Juno Dawson: Call yourself a feminist?

One of things I love about GLAMOUR Magazine is how it supports women's choices. Indeed there is a whole section called Hey, It's OK…because, when things are your choice, and if they're not hurting anyone else, it is OK. Women are sometimes made to feel guilty about their choices in a way that men are not - you shouldn't eat that, wear that, think that, do that, say that.

What I also love about GLAMOUR is that, since 2001, it has encouraged women to feel confident about their choices while rarely using the word 'feminism'. That was because, back then, feminism was something of a dirty word. It was a word that felt militant, angry, unconstructive and, frankly, unglamorous.

Fifteen years later, thanks to a rebranding - although by no means a retooling - feminism is mercifully 'in' again. Caitlin Moran; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Beyoncé, Lena Dunham, Amy Schumer and many, many more stars are proudly reclaiming the label. The goals of feminism are the same as they always were: social, political and economic equality between genders. We know, in lots of ways, we have not yet reached equality: the wage gap; unpaid domestic labour; FGM; domestic violence; rape and those are just the biggies.

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Soz, this column is perhaps a bit heavier than the last few, but, you know, being trans isn't all hair extensions and oestrogen gels.

When I visit high schools with my novels, I always encourage teenage girls to call themselves feminists because I believe all girls need feminism. They need it to safeguard the rights they already have and those inequalities still not fought. I have always been a feminist, but it's from feminists that I've faced my harshest criticisms.

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It breaks my heart that much of the trolling I get on Twitter is from women who claim to be feminists.

Let's back up to October 2015. One year ago and I'd just come out to the world as a trans woman. On the very same day Germaine Greer, feminist academic, went on BBC's Newsnight and repeated her claims that trans women are not, and will never be, women. When trans actor Rebecca Root defended her right to call herself a woman, Greer responded with the following:

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"Just because you lop off your dick and then wear a dress doesn't make you a fucking woman. I've asked my doctor to give me long ears and liver spots and I'm going to wear a brown coat but that won't turn me into a fucking cocker spaniel…A man who gets his dick chopped off is actually inflicting an extraordinary act of violence on himself."

Greer is not the first, nor will she be the last, TERF: a trans-exclusionary radical feminist. A subgroup of feminists who steadfastly believe me - and other trans women - are not women. Sadly, there are probably women reading this right now who are like, "If it looks and sounds like a bloke, it's a bloke. If it's got a penis, it's a bloke."

The key battle ground between TERFs and trans women is the issue of toilets. Yes, my right to do a little wee or poo is, apparently, major political battleground.

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You'll know from the news that North Carolina governors sought to end the rights of trans people to use the restroom of their preferred gender. This reignited the conversation about so-called 'safe spaces' for women. There will be people reading this thinking that trans women want access to women's bathrooms to sexually assault them.

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It is a funny sort of a feminism that would place already vulnerable women in danger.

All I can say to that is NO. No, no, no, no, no, no, NO. I try to only ever speak for myself but I'm pretty sure, overwhelmingly, all trans people EVER would agree with me when I say a) I JUST NEED A WEE, THAT IS MY ONLY MOTIVE FOR ENTERING A PUBLIC LOO and b) I really really wouldn't feel safe peeing in a men's bathroom. It is a funny sort of a feminism that would place already vulnerable women in danger.

All trans women are predators? Are you for real? Remember in the eighties when tabloids used to confuse gay men and paedophiles? Have we not moved on? There is ONE terrible example of a sexual predator in Canada (in 2012) gaining access to a women's shelter through claiming to be trans and assaulting a woman. That is undeniably an atrocity, but a one-off. Saying trans women pose a threat to women based on this example is as logical as suggesting women shouldn't be allowed to be nurses because of Beverley Allitt.

While we're busting tabloid nonsense - you'll have no doubt seen The Daily Mail's reportage of 'furious parents' up in arms about CBBC's Just A Girl drama. "Sex Change Show For Kids" the newspaper stirred. What utter rot. 1. I was about four when I first knew I wanted to be a girl. It happens and it happens young. 2. No children are having 'sex changes', you morons. They might be prescribed hormone blockers. This (temporarily) puts puberty on hold while they take some time to think about transitioning as adults. Delaying the onset of puberty means your body will transition more smoothly IF an individual chooses to take that step later. Otherwise, they simply stop taking the blockers and go through puberty late. I'm glad we could clear that up.

I feel perpetually on the back-foot, constantly grovelling, almost apologetic for my inclusion in womanhood.

It's frustrating that trans women, including myself, constantly have to defend ourselves. I feel perpetually on the back-foot, constantly grovelling, almost apologetic for my inclusion in womanhood. I can only speak for myself, but by being a woman, I don't feel I'm holding back cisgender (not-trans) women or taking anything away from them. I don't think my choice to initiate a medical transition impacts on the choices of any other women.

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What it boils down to is, am I somehow less of a woman? Well, I think - as women - we can all agree on one thing: sometimes biology fucks us over. Those of us who can't get pregnant - less of a woman? Those of us who need mastectomies - less of a woman? Those of us (including me) on HRT - less womanly? I think I'm just one more woman who was royally fucked over by biology and now I'm in the process of putting that right.

If you've read this column regularly you'll know that being trans is fraught with difficulties - no more or less than any other woman, but different perhaps. It breaks my heart that much of the trolling I get on Twitter is from women and women who claim to be feminists. I will need the support of other women to get me through. Don't we all? @junodawson